Delaware Sports Betting Hits Another Roadblock

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court all but eliminated the possibility of Delaware beginning to accept individual bets on professional sporting games. The argument was based on whether having the state allow betting violated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. Under that law, no betting on professional or amateur sports games was permitted, with special exemptions granted to Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon because, at the time the law was passed, they all previously operating some form of sports betting. However, Delaware only offered parlay bets, and only offered them on NFL games. A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more wagers, where winning the parlay bet is dependent on winning all of the individual wagers. The professional leagues and the NCAA argued that offering any other bets other than parlay bets on NFL games would violate the 1992 statute. The attorneys for the state of Delaware argued that allowing additional betting would help offset some of the state’s record deficit, and operating a sports lottery would not violate the law. The U.S. Supreme Court did not hear the case, instead allowing the ruling from the appeals court to stand, which stated that the state could only continue to offer parlay bets and they only can be offered on NFL games.

It looks as though this could finally be the end for what Delaware envisioned would be a boost in revenue. The state expected at least $17 million in revenue from offering sports betting if they were allowed to do so, which is a small amount when compared to the $350 million deficit the state is currently facing. It also would pale in comparison to the $2.5 billion that was wagered in Nevada sports books last year, which even though that seems like an enormous number, represented less than 1% of the total amount wagered, legally and illegally, throughout the country last year!!